//------------------------------//
// Mission 7, Part 5: Incoming Storm 
// Story: Semper Pie 
// by deathtap 
//------------------------------//

On the main deck, Sonic was spreading the map out on the floor getting a little annoyed that the wind wasn’t helping him. He picked up some debris and placed them along the corners to hold the map down, but the wind was strong enough to lift the middle up and actually start tearing itself. As Sonic tried to get more debris, Raze threw her dagger into the middle with a loud thunk. The newly created hole coupled with the weights were enough to keep it flat.
 
“Uh… thanks?”
 
“No problem!” Raze turned away and gazed off towards Samidra who was still fretting on her own near the skimmers. She kept glancing back at the airship and then towards the direction of the Caldera.
 
“Maybe you should go calm her.” Raze turned to look at Sonic. “She looks like she’s ready to commandeer one of the skims and go off ahead of us.”
 
“Y’think?” Sonic walked over and stood next to Raze, who turned away from the pegasus and started muttering something to herself. “I guess if I were in her shoes, I’d do the same.”
 
“Do camels wear shoes?” Raze asked.
 
That made Sonic chuckle. “Don’t know, but you know what I mean.”
 
Raze was about to tell him that she was asking out of curiosity, that she really wanted to know if they really did wear shoes.
 
“You found a map!” a voice sounded perishing any further thought.
 
They both turned around to see Static and Onslaught, and another pony draped over the pegasus’ back.
 
“A thestral? Where in Tartarus did you find her?”
 
“In the morgue,” Onslaught said and carefully placed the mare’s body on the deck. “She’s alive.”
 
“Well, that would be the last place I’d expect to find a living pony. So, what was she doing in the morgue? Is she a morgue-worker?”
 
“A ‘morgue-worker’?” Raze chastised. “Really?”
 
“Well, whatever they’re called…”
 
“As far as I can tell, maybe. I don’t know. But I have a theory. When the wrym bit into the airship and punctured the generator, she must have been in or near the morgue. After understanding the situation, she must have done the first thing that came to mind: hop into a freezer to protect herself from the magic’s radiation. Then it crashed and everypony got out of there as fast as they could. She was trapped inside one and couldn’t get out nor signal any pony else to help. It took me and Onslaught all our strength to break the door open.”
 
“So you saved her,” Sonic simplified. “Great! We saved a Cultist. Try not to shoot an arrow through her this time, Onslaught.”
 
“I will endeavor to fulfill that obligation,” the large pegasus replied blandly, “but only if we break her legs.”
 
“Give her some water and food,” Static ordered ignoring Onslaught, “she’s been stuck in there all this time. It’s a miracle she didn’t die from dehydration. We need to see if she can tell us something that we can use. Then we can let her go.”
 
“Let her go? Wouldn’t that be dangerous?” Sonic looked at the mare on the ground.
 
“Probably, but we don’t have a choice, and I don’t want to murder another pony,” Static said looking right at Onslaught.
 
“I get it,” the pegsus muttered, “but it was the right thing to do.”
 
“Debatable,” Static replied without pause.
 
“I differ in that opinion,” Onslaught’s responded without emotion.
 
Raze lowered herself and placed a bottle near the thestral’s lips. The mare opened her mouth slowly and Raze poured a little in. As soon as she tasted the water, her eyes shot opened and she sucked in the water like much needed air. She sat up and coughed a little, then fell back down and placed her forearm over her eyes letting out a moan of pain.
 
“You okay?” Sonic asked.
 
“Y-yes. Thanks. I thought I was going to die in there,” the thestral replied and lowered her hoof.
 
Her eyes floated to Raze, then to Onslaught, then to Static. She never made it to Sonic because when she saw Static she screamed and tried to back away from him.
 
“Relax,” Static muttered. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
 
“Y-y-y-y-y-y-you’re Guards!”
 
“And we’re Elites,” Raze enunciated clearly and drew a knife. “They aren’t the ones you should be scared of.”
 
“E-E-E-E-E-Elites?” The thestral looked at them and then at the masks raised above their faces. He dark blue hue actually blanched as she understood what they really were. “B-but why? This isn’t the coast! Please don’t sell me!”
 
“Have you been sleeping under a rock? That whole story is over. No more slave trade. No more foalnapping. No more fun stuff,” Raze said and removed her sword and placed it strategically in front of the mare. “But if you want, I can bring the fun here.”
 
The mare pushed herself back from Raze and into the hooves of Sonic who was standing behind her. She looked up and her eyes met Sonic’s before starting to water.
 
“Aw, come on!” Sonic shouted suddenly. “I am not that ugly!”
 
That made the thestral blink. “W-what?”
 
“I said: I’m not that ugly! Am I?”
 
“N-n-n-n-n-no?” the mare asked nervously, unsure whether or not he would take offence.
 
“Then why, oh why, did you cry when you looked at my face?”
 
There was a slight moment of silence before Raze let out a giggle. Onslaught roared with laughter. Static couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. That was Sonic’s charm. He could disarm a pony without weapons. Static thought to himself that if Sonic wasn’t so thick he’d actually make a good ambassador. The tension that had been steadily rising had completely diffused itself through Sonic’s words.
 
Of course, the direct threatening nature of the Elites did not help matters very much.
 
“I… because… the…” The thestral couldn’t process what just happened.
 
Sonic shrugged. “You mean to say: ‘I’m only joking’, right?”
 
“Yes. He really is that ugly,” Raze replied on behalf of the thestral.
 
“Oh, very funny, Raze.” Sonic clapped his hooves together in sarcasm. “Ha, ha.”
 
“S-so, y-you’re not going to sell me?”
 
“No,” Static stated taking charge of the situation.
 
“And you’re not going to kill me?”
 
“No.”
 
“You’re not going to… eat me?”
 
“Say what? Eat you? Why would I want to eat you?” Sonic questioned. “Are you made of candy or something?”
 
“N-no?” The thestral gulped.
 
“Well then you’re safe from me,” Sonic muttered and shrugged. “And here I was beginning to think that all thestrals were made of candy.”
 
“That’s ridiculous!”
 
“Almost as ridiculous as fearing the ponies who just saved your life? Almost as ridiculous as asking if I’d eat you?” Sonic replied. “Eat you? What is wrong with you?”
 
“Um… it’s a long story. And the others? What’s left of my crewmates?”
 
“You’re the only one left alive that we found,” Static replied. “And what do you mean ‘crewmates’?
 
Before Sonic could open his mouth, Raze threw her gauntlet at him. He dodged it and turned around to voice his ire when Raze grabbed the back of his head and pulled the stallion so their foreheads collided.
 
“Shut. Up,” Raze whispered very quietly, very viciously. “Don’t. Say. Anything.”
 
Static made a note to thank the mare later. There was no need to tell the mare that they had found another pony, which they had summarily killed.
 
The thestral glanced around. “But then how? How did you save me? How did you know where I was hiding?”
 
“Chance. Fluke. The freezer you hid in looked out of place. You chose a good spot to hide yourself. If it weren’t for that, you’d be dead.”
 
The thestral looked at Static understanding that he was in charge here. “But where are the others?”
 
“Leave that aside for now. We’ll let you go. All you have to do is tell us why you’re out here.”
 
“I don’t know. I work on this ship. I was doing some late night… accounting, checking on the various units. We were sailing out of Hoofville near Almaty.”
 
“I know of it,” Static nodded. “A small frontier mining town near the base of the mountain range there. They transport precious metals.”
 
“Well, yes. I suppose. Our intended destination was towards the far tribes of West Zebrica. I work down here as a junior medical officer. My job was to check on the morgue, make sure the freezers were working and… stuff. Then, about two days out of Hoofville our ship was attacked by another much larger airship.”
 
“So you aren’t with the Cultists?”
 
“What? Cultists? Wait, they weren’t Guards?”
 
“No. They weren’t.”
 
“But they wore Guard armor and were on a battleship. I thought…”
 
“So you aren’t with the Cultists?” Sonic reaffirmed.
 
“No! They killed most of the senior staff, but kept some of us alive to help run the airship. They told me that they’d kill me if I resisted and didn’t listen to them! They killed my friend. Broke his wings and threw him overboard. They said they only needed one medical pony.”
 
“That’s horrible,” Sonic replied. “What’s wrong with those ponies?”
 
“That’s actually a common practice out here,” Raze intoned. “Well, it was until recently.”
 
“So, you were scared because you thought we were part of the attackers?”
 
“Well… yeah.”
 
“Anything else? I just find is strange that you were leaving Hoofville towards West Zebrica. Since when do the Zebricans need precious metals when they have a proficiency of finding their own. That doesn’t fit.” Static narrowed his eyes. “What else?”
 
“I’m not… my crew isn’t…”
 
“They’re smugglers,” Raze said calmly.
 
“And just how do you know that?” Static asked, curious.
 
Raze gestured with her head towards Torment who had just arrived and was carrying something like a large egg towards them. When he reached the others, he placed the egg down onto the deck, which revealed the fact that the bottom part was indeed flat. Then he removed the cloth covering it. It was a large birdcage, and in it were a sizeable batch of Breezies. They all looked at the ponies in fear, confusion, anger, and pure hatred.
 
“Experience,” Raze replied and touched the cage, the breezies backing away from the hoof in abject terror. “These are worth quite a lot. Outside of Equestria, and within. Exotic pets, I believe.”
 
“So, we’re all just victims to happenstance,” Static muttered and sighed. “Three Elites, two Border Guards, one camel, and now a thestral smuggler and a cage of breezies. Great! That’s all I need.”
 
“L-look. I know that selling breezies is wrong, but I need to support my family! Besides, I didn’t know what they were smuggling. I mean, I knew, but I didn’t–”
 
Torment shook his head and pointed at the dead breezies at the bottom of the cage. Then he pointed up at the ones trembling and shook his head.
 
“What’s he saying?” Asked Static.
 
“These are the only ones left alive. Right, Tor?”
 
The stallion nodded.
 
“If this were any other situation, I’d happily turn you over to the Royal Guard, threstral. but right now we have much, much bigger concerns and I just don’t have the mental space to deal with this. Do you know anything else?”
 
Sonic wandered over the cage and started to fiddle with something. The latch snapped back and he pulled the cage doors open. The breezies were on the opposite side, so Sonic backed away and smiled.
 
“Y-yes! They were all talking about something. A-about a rock. A super rock able to change everything. They said that they had to get their hooves on it before anypony else. I heard them talking to themselves while I was working in the clinic.”
 
“And your captain?” Static asked.
 
“They hung him in front of the bridge. As an example to what would happen if we disobeyed.” She turned to look at the bridge in question. “His body is gone?”
 
“Out here, anything dead is taken by the desert.”
 
“Back to this rock. Did they say anything else?”
 
The thestral thought for a moment. “T-they mentioned a tunnel that led straight to the temple! I overheard them in the captain’s room the other night. They were shouting at each other before they started fighting.”
 
“Fighting?”
 
“Yes. I think that they were arguing what they should do with the stone when they got their hooves on it, but I don’t know what it meant. I just keep the morgue clean!”
 
“Why would an airship like this have a morgue?” Sonic asked.
 
“Common practice for smugglers,” Raze explained. “They hide their sensitive stock in the lockers next to the bodies of deceased ponies. They use the paperwork to bypass inspections by the Guard. After all, not many ponies would willfully open the lockers of the deceased. These breezies must have been prepped for selling in the air. Airship to airship, which is why they’re out of the morgue. I guarantee if you open the other lockers… well, it wouldn’t smell very nice.”
 
“That’s horrible!” Sonic said aghast by what he just heard.
 
“Welcome to the world outside your kingdom.” Raze smiled sadly. “This is the reality outside your borders.”
 
“Well, it needs to change.”
 
“And you will change it?”
 
“If I have to. Yes.” Sonic looked at the breezies, who were still terrified and huddling near the other side of the cage. “You’re free now. Come on out.”
 
There were many dead ones on the bottom, perhaps the crash killed them, or the days in the cage had taken its toll. There was a small food supply and water jar that must have helped, but the majority of the delicate creatures must have died from the shock of the crash.
 
Sonic took out his water bottle poured a little into the cup.
 
Necessity begot fear, and one of the breezies, despite protests from her peers, flew forward and drank from the cap. She looked up at Sonic, who just smiled brighter and poured some more. Again, the breezie took another huge sip for her size before contentedly sitting down on the deck, her hooves covering her eyes as her shoulders started to shake.
 
“Poor thing,” Sonic muttered. “She’s terrified!”
 
The others, seeing that Sonic did not mean them harm, took turns drinking from the water.
 
“What they eat?” Sonic asked.
 
“Honey,” the thestral replied. “Or anything sweet. You have sugar?”
 
“No.”
 
“There should be some in the mess.”
 
“Torment,” Static ordered.
 
The Elite gave a mock salute and trotted off not even making the slightest of sounds.
 
“How’s he doing that?” Sonic asked. “I can’t ever hear him coming.”
 
“If there is an Elite that could go head to head with Semper, it’d be him. I’ve seen both stallions fight – not each other, but I can tell you that all of us here would be hard pressed to stop him if he wanted to kill us. Torment’s… different. Dangerous, yes, but he’s different.”
 
“Then it’s good thing he’s on our side,” Static said not wanting to feed into that train of thought.
 
“There is one other thing,” the thestral began. “Night Terror is here.”
 
“Oh great!” Static shouted and shook his head. “Of course he’d be.”
 
“Another pony you know?” Sonic asked.
 
“Yes, and you should too. He’s one of the many leaders of the Cultists. A very strong unicorn. Specializes in earth magic, a little like our friend Tourmaline. Specifically, sand.”
 
“And we just happen to be in a place where he can manipulate the entire area around us!” Sonic sighed as looked down at the breezies who were staring up at him. “Don’t worry, little guys! We’re going to get you home.”
 
The creatures all turned to one another and, for the first time, they all smiled.
 



 
“No!” Rarity said, throwing her latest design aside. “No! No, no, no! None of these will do! Oh, I need to make my new designs amazing or… or perhaps I’m not destined to become a fashionista after all!”
 
Another ribbon of cloth, another seam stitched. Another design. If it wasn’t something that the Princess herself wouldn’t take notice, then it wasn’t good enough for her. But she lacked inspiration. Something was missing from her life. Something just wasn’t all there.
 
“Hey!” she shouted as her magic suddenly seemed to flicker. It had been doing that non-stop since the night before when she had started working. She was used to pulling all-nighters and this one wasn’t an exception – except it was. Every so often she would feel something in her horn give a slight pull, as if it were trying to take her someplace.
 
She ignored it. She had other things to worry about right at that moment, and one of them was getting her latest costumes ready for the school play. All her friends and classmates were counting on her. And she vowed to deliver.
 



 
“It’s late! We cannot wait!” Samidra said as the group reached them. When she saw the thestral she stopped and backed off.
 
“Don’t worry. The sharp teeth are for breaking into nuts native to her area. They are dominantly nocturnal, which is why their eyes are like that. She’s not going to bite you,” Static said when he saw Samidra’s expression. “But that’s not what you should be concerned about. We are going to travel through the night. We have to risk it.”
 
“But…”
 
“No buts. We’re going. No halos. The light would blind us. We’re going via the light of the moon and stars. We have to.”
 
“But…”
 
“Look, this isn’t up for discussion. You can’t even tell me why you don’t travel at night. You want to help? This is how. We don’t have time. We’ve got the information we need and we’re going right now.”
 
The force of Static’s order made the camel take a step back.
 
“We’ll die.”
 
“We won’t.” He turned to Sonic. “Explain to the breezies that we’re going to go very fast and they’ll need to hang on. I’m not going to suggest how, but if they get left behind we’re not stopping. There’s too much at stake. I suggest they stay inside your saddlebags, but I don’t know if they’ll trust us.”
 
“How am I supposed to explain that to them?”
 
“Figure it out,” Static replied and walked over to the thestral. “I didn’t get your name.”
 
“Tessa,” the thestral replied. “If I were to translate my name into Equestrian proper, it would be Midnight Gatherer. I don’t like it, so just call me Tessa.”
 
“Noted,” Static replied. “Tessa, you ride with me Samidra and Torment on this skim. I’m keeping you away from the breezies.”
 
They had tried to find a working skimmer in the hold, but the others had been too badly damaged. If they had the time, they could have salvaged enough parts to rebuild one, but time was not on their side and it was agreed that Tessa would accompany them whether she liked it or not. That, or she could stay behind and rebuild the skimmer herself. With no knowledge on how to do so, however, she sprang on the offer to travel with the others. They made her understand that they would probably be sailing into a fight, but she then made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. She was a medically trained pony, and they needed her skills as much as she needed theirs.
 
Preparing the skims did not take long and soon they were all charging towards the decaying remains of the wyrm once again. The body was between themselves and the Caldera, so they would have to travel along the length before they could get to the other side. They had to take a gamble between going back the way they came for three days, or chancing it in the opposite direction and hoping that the body was not too long.
 
They took a vote and it was decided to go the opposite way they came. They did not want to follow the skim trail of the Cultists as they headed straight for the wyrm, perhaps not realizing it was blocking the way.
 
Static concentrated on trying to see the wyrm’s body and planned to cut just in front of the head and take a massive about-turn. He hoped that it would come into view before the sun dipped over the horizon. It was clear that Samidra was terrified over the prospect of skimming at night, but he’d have to chance it. The lack of information as to why the camels did not travel in the night bothered him. Was it as simple as behind unable to see where they were going, or were there really creatures of the night that would hunt them down.
 
He hoped that he was making the right choice.
 
“Samidra, do the wyrms see at night?” Static asked trying to make conversation.
 
“Yes. The desert is impassible from the sky in night or day,” the camel shouted back. “Nothing can venture over this place.”
 
The rest of the conversation was muted. The tension grew steadily as the sun started to make its decent, the Princess lowering it as she did so every single day. A part of him wished he could ask her to stop the sun from setting so that they would have extra light, but there was no way to communicate with her from where he was.
 
“Please, Your Highness, just let the sun be above us a little longer…”
 
But, as expected, the sun began to lower itself in the distance bathing the desert in the cool light of the moon’s glow. What amazed them all was how clear it was. It was nowhere near as dark as they had expected it to be, but none of them were more surprised than Samidra herself. For years she had been told about the halos, which had blinded them to the beauty that stretched out before them across the sky. They saw the stars, the utter untouched beauty of it all. There was so much light in Equestria. Or there were clouds placed all over the place that blocked the beauty they saw. Out here, in the middle of the desert where not a single cloud could be seen for miles around, the sky was perfectly clear and they could see the heavens.
 
It was not as clear as day time, but they could still see quite a long way, but it was the cold that hit them hard.
 
Samidra wrapped herself in her blanket and offered one to Torment. He took it and wrapped it around his neck like a scarf and pulled a fold over his head covering his helm. Then he lowered his mask. The extra covering must have kept his face warm, but in the night with the cowl and shroud the Elite looked absolutely terrifying.
 
Static offered his blanket to Tessa who sat next to him. She edged closer to the stallion and put half over the Guard’s shoulders. “If you freeze to death, we’ll all be in danger!”
 
“Thanks,” the stallion intoned and concentrated on where he was going.
 
A flash to their right in the far distance brought their attention and Static watched. Several more flashes brightened up the sky. It did not take them long to realize what they were seeing. They knew and understood what was happening.
 
Explosions. It was a battle.
 
“Looks like we made the right choice,” Static muttered. “If they went the other way there’s no chance that they would have reached the Caldera by now, not to mention we would have seen them coming. This is the right direction. The body of the wrym must end soon. Let’s hope that we arrive in time.”
 
“The body of the what?” Tessa asked.
 
Static looked at her. “You’ll see.”